Mary Poppins, the magical nanny

At your exam in June you will be requested to talk about one of the suggested topics and "My favourite book for children by an English writer" is on the list. Speaking about this topic you should demonstrate your knowledge of the classical works of the English literature for children. 

"Marry Poppins" by Pamela L. Travers is a wonderful choice. Have you read this book or maybe watched a film? Which adjectives come to your mind when you think about Mary Poppins' character? Write your answer in the comments.

Created in the early 30s Mary Poppins is still in the public's imagination even though newer fantasies have appeared. In the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in London, England, multiple Mary Poppinses descended from the roof of the stadium on wires to save children from Lord Voldemort, a character from the Harry Potter books.

Read the extracts from the following article "Mary Poppins and a Biography of Her Creator, P. L. Travers"

- A Magical Nanny

- The First Mary Poppins Book

- The Mary Poppins Series

- The Mary Poppins Movie

Summarize what you have read. You may find useful these tips for writing a summary .

As for the screen versions of "Mary Poppins" you can get the idea of what the original Walt Disney movie was like by watching this trailer:

A new adoptation of the famous story is expected soon:

In case you haven't watched it yet there's a Soviet musical based on this book.

You can help to save the planet too! Just think of what you can do.

When we talk about environmental problems we also discuss possible solutions to them. It is very inspiring to learn about green enthusiasts and their work. For example, Nicholas Locke who has built his own rainforest in 8 years (watch this fascinating video and see how he has done it:

...or Ken Nedimyer and his team trying to restore and rebuild the coral reefs in the Carribean Sea (read this article to find out more).

But everyone can do something to save the environment. What exactly? The students of 21 T-TO group (Technology education Department) brainstormed their ideas on the eco-friendly lifestyle. Such tasks help to raise awareness about existing ecological problems and, of course, to improve language skills.

 The works by Liza Alentieva and Vika Gagara:

Easy changes - Tips for more sustainable lifestyle

I chose these words by Carl Sagan, a famous American scientist, as an epigraph to our lesson with my second-year students last Wednesday (blended learning design of the lesson is available here). Together we explored the blogs of sustainable influencers in order to make a list of changes that everyone should introduce into their lives to help the environment.

Let's take a closer look at the word "sustainable". It has several meanings and you can read the definitions with examples in Oxford or Cambridge dictionaries. In our context it means "conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources" or "causing little or no damage to the environment, and therefore able to continue for a long time". 

Sustainable lifestyle - стиль життя, що завдає мало шкоди навколишньому середовищу.

Synonyms of sustainable lifestyle - eco-friendly, green-living lifestyle.

Sustainable influencers are bloggers who use social media to promote a sustainable lifestyle.

 Here are my favourites:

1.Trash is Tossers by Lauren Singer from New York who lives a zero waste lifestyle.

2. Use Less by Signe Hansen from Denmark about a simple lifestyle with less waste.

3. Sustainably Chic by Natalie Kay from Florida with tips and tricks for creating an environmentally friendly wardrobe and beauty routine.

4. Sarah Wilson's blog about minimalism.

And here are some of the tips on the eco-friendly lifestyle that we posted on Twitter under hashtags #GoGreenandEcofriendly and #greenlifestyle.